Restoring NZ’s coastal wetlands could be key in the climate change fight

For many companies, forest carbon offsets have become a way to compensate the environment for the use of its resources. The Spinoff looks at how the establishment of wetlands, known as blue carbon offsetting, could be an even greener option. Prior to human settlement, wetlands took up a sizeable portion of the natural landscape. In Auckland, for example, the city’s low-lying western suburbs were once full of cabbage trees and flax, forming habitats for birds like weka and pūkeko. Today, however, just 10% of Aotearoa’s original wetlands are thought to remain, and their ecological importance was only fully understood later on.